IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 489 

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to facilitate and promote 

a robust response to the looming global crisis of Alzheimer’s and other 

forms of dementia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2014 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. WATERS, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. 

FATTAH, and Mr. MEADOWS) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to 

facilitate and promote a robust response to the looming 

global crisis of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. 

Whereas dementia is a degenerative condition caused by disease of the brain—usually of a chronic or progressive nature—in which there is disturbance of multiple higher 

cortical functions, including memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and judgment. 

Whereas between 5 to 7 percent of the world’s population age 

60 and above are estimated to have dementia. 


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Whereas dementia can be caused by various factors, including 

traumatic or localized brain injury, a temporary interruption of the brain’s supply of blood or oxygen, infection, 

stroke, brain hemorrhage, prolonged seizures or even excessive alcohol use. 

Whereas Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60–70% of dementia cases. Other 

forms of dementia include vascular dementia (caused by 

damage from impaired blood flow), frontotemporal dementia (involving degeneration of the frontal lobe of the 

brain governing mood and behavior), semantic dementia 

(caused by damage to the left temporal lobe governing 

speech) and dementia with Lewy bodies (involving abnormal aggregation of protein inside nerve cells in the 

brain). 

Whereas, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International, 

more than 44 million people worldwide are suffering from 

Alzheimer’s or dementia, a figure that will expand to 

more than 75 million people by 2030 and more than 115 

million people by 2050 if the current trajectory of the 

disease remains unchanged. Globally, a new case of dementia occurs every four seconds. 

Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias impose a 

devastating, unsustainable and rapidly growing toll on 

the health and fiscal well-being of the United States and 

all countries. In 2010, the annual global societal economic cost of Alzheimer’s and dementia was estimated to 

be $604 billion, about 1 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

Whereas more than 62 percent of people with dementia globally live in low-to-middle income countries, and by 2050 

this percentage will exceed 70 percent. 


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Whereas Standard & Poors rating agency has identified global aging as ‘‘the dominant threat to global economic stability’’ that will ‘‘lead to profound changes in economic 

growth for countries around the world.’’ 

Whereas no disease-modifying therapy or treatment for Alzheimer’s exists today. Dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible, fewer than 10% of cases of 

dementia are due to causes that currently may be reversed with treatment. 

Whereas in January 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the political declaration of the high-level 

meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and 

Controls of Non-communicable disease that recognized 

Alzheimer’s as being ‘‘an important cause of morbidity’’ 

and a corresponding ‘‘need to provide equitable access to 

effective programmes and health- care interventions.’’ 

Whereas in 2012, the United States adopted a National Plan 

to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that set as its first goal 

preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease by 

2025. 

Whereas in December 2013 the G8 nations convened the G8 

Dementia Summit and established a similar goal to 

‘‘identify a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by 2025 and to increase collectively and significantly the amount of funding for dementia research to 

reach that goal. 

Whereas the G8 political declaration called for greater international collaboration and sharing on Alzheimer’s research and for the development of a coordinated international research plan that ‘‘accounts for the current 

state of the science, identifies gaps and opportunities, 


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and lays out a plan for working together to address 

them.’’ 

Whereas the G8 declaration also called for ‘‘greater innovation to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their caretakers while reducing emotional and financial burden’’ and for ‘‘exploring the possibility of developing a private and philanthropic fund to support 

global dementia innovation.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it should be the policy of the U.S. Gov2 ernment to encourage and facilitate as feasible: 

3 1. The Secretary of Health and Human Serv4 ices shall enter into negotiations with the World 

5 Health Organization to develop a Global Alzheimer’s 

6 and Dementia Action Plan focused on the following 

7 areas: 

8 (A) Research, including clinical research 

9 and clinical trials, and regulatory issue; 

10 (B) Clinical care; 

11 (C) Supportive services for patients and 

12 for caregivers, including supports using innova13 tive technologies; 

14 (D) Clinical care; 

15 (E) Supportive services for patients and 

16 for caregivers, including supports using innova17 tive technologies; 

18 (F) Prevention and health promotion; 


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1 (G) Development of a stable and sustained 

2 international commitment to Alzheimer’s re3 search, and 

4 (H) Public awareness and education, par5 ticularly efforts aimed at reducing stigmas and 

6 increasing the inclusion of persons with Alz7 heimer’s and dementia within civil society. 

8 2. In addition to the WHO, the effort should 

9 involve all other nations that have adopted national 

10 Alzheimer’s and/or dementia plans or strategies and, 

11 to the greatest extent possible, connect to compo12 nents of one or more of said plans. Nations without 

13 plans yet willing to participate in developing the 

14 global strategy can do so if they commit to providing 

15 resources to fund the effort. 

16 3. The Secretary of Health and Human Serv17 ices along with the Secretary of the Treasury should 

18 develop the foundation for a Global Alzheimer’s 

19 Fund that would provide resources to support imple20 mentation of specific strategies of the Global Plan. 

21 This early-stage effort shall include: 

22 (A) Priority areas of focus, 

23 (B) Governance structure and 


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1 (C) Participation of other government, pri2 vate entities and non-governmental organiza3 tions 

4 The U.S. government should assign a high-level per5 son to lead and coordinate all Global Alzheimer’s 

6 and dementia initiatives including representing the 

7 United States in all convenings focused on devel8 oping the plan, fund, and corresponding components. 

9 4. The G8 nations, working with the G20, G77 

10 and other forums including the Organization for 

11 Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 

12 should investigate systems to monitor and provide 

13 care to persons with Alzheimer’s and other forms of 

14 dementia in developing countries to help build care 

15 delivery capacity. 

16 5. The U.S. Agency for International Develop17 ment, in collaboration with all other relevant U.S. 

18 agencies, should investigate the foreign aid implica19 tions of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia 

20 and inform Congress as to the need for possible 

21 changes to foreign healthcare-related foreign assist22 ance. 

23 6. In order to maximize the possibility of suc24 cessful treatment for Alzheimer’s and other forms of 

25 dementia, the U.S. government should encourage 


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1 and facilitate partnerships with the private sector, 

2 such as the current partnership between the Na3 tional Institutes of health and 10 pharmaceutical 

4 companies to identify new approaches to treat Alz5 heimer’s and other medical conditions. 

Æ 


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